Snowshoe



Ot- 28, 1952 F. T. PADEN 2,615,260

sNowsHoE Filed 001;. 10, 1950 2 SHEETS--SHEET l I N VENTOR Q/ @@Jn ATTORNEY Oct. 28, 1952 F T PADEN 2,615,260

SNOWSHOE 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 Filed Oct. 10, 1950 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 28, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE L sNoWsHoE Frederick T. Paden, Collingwood, N. J. Application October 10, 1950SerialNo. 189,465'. 2 Claims. -(o1..es.:4.5')'Y (Granted under the actfof Maren: s, 11883; as

amended Apri l,30, 1928; .370 '0.- G. 7.57)

Theifinvention Adescribed' herein, if patented,

may be manufacturedbT or for the Goverment for governmental purposes without the payment to me Aof .anyroyaltyv thereon.

This-invention relates to snowshoes and in general aims to rprovide a Snowshoe suitable for mili- (7)..Usable with various types of foot bindings;

(8) vPermanently white to be inconspicuous against snow.;

(9) Construction adaptable `to'any design or shape of Snowshoe.

In theaccompanying drawings showing several embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view .of .a snowshoe of the bear paw'shape or design ;v

' Fig. 2 is a side ,elevation of the same;

Fig.j3 is a top plan view .of a snowshoe of the trail design, shown on a smaller scale;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the snowshoe of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan View, scale full size, of the preferred web which forms the body of the Snowshoe of Figs. 1-4 inclusive;

Fig. 6 is an exploded view in perspective of a laminated Snowshoe embodying the invention, part of the reinforcing for the toe hole being omitted.

Referring further to the drawings, either design of Snowshoe shown in Figs. 1-4 inclusive comprises a rigid frame, a perforated web inclosed by and secured to the frame, and reinforcements for the web secured to the web and the frame.

The preferred frame is of metal, preferably a bent tube of aluminum, magnesium alloy or steel, which will be non-warping and non-water-absorbent. The tubular bear paw frame 20 of Figs. l and 2 preferably has its ends abutted and welded (not shown) to form a closed loop. The elongated trail frame 2| of Figs. 3 and 4 is a loop with its forward end bent upwardly as shown and with its rear extremities extending side by side and welded, riveted or otherwise secured together. In cross section the frames 20 andZI may have a number of shapes such as round, oval,

or any other shape.

2 square, oblong, channel-shaped, -H-shaped, etc. A metal frame is readily bent when formed, vand the upturned toe of the ftrailV model (Fig. 3) as well as ofthe trapper model (not shown) is provided withoutdiiilculty. Any metal frame is easily formed on its underside with ridges or protuberances (not shown) toincrease the fbite or grip of the Snowshoe on crusted snow or other slippery surfaces. J 1 y,

The mat or web 25 'hasnumerous perfor-ations or openings '25a (Fig. 5) `which are preferably diamondshaped, although they -could -be round These -perfor'ations maybe cut from a sheet from which the .web 25 is formed or they may be formed when the web is made by projections upstandingffrom a form.; Diamondshaped perforations are more desirable because they leave a greater amount'of vmaterial between the openings, which results in greater strength for the web. A large number of perforations=are desirable to lessen-the weight of the :Snowshoe and to permit snow on top-,of the snowshoe to sift through.vv the perforations. YThe web may be of woven glass fiber cloth ora non-wovenmatting of glass bers,'or it may be ofstoutcloth made from cotton, rayon', nylon, -fortisan-or'orlon, or otherbers of the sainegeneralcharacteristics. Th'efweb should vbe formed and cured-separately to provide an easily handled sub-assembly which,

is assembled with and then rivetedor otherwise secured to the tubular frame as already described. A phenolic resin, a polyester resin, polystyrene or similar resins may be used to fortify and stiften the web, which when cured is a tough, thin. slightly flexible, waterproof sheet having a thickness of between one sixteenth and one thirtysecond of an inch, in the preferred form. Heat and pressure will of course be used when the resin is such that it cannot be cured properly otherwise. White pigments such as titanium oxide, zinc oxide, zinc sulphide or white lead (basic lead carbonate) are desirably incorporated in the selected resin prior to curing, thereby giving permanent whiteness to the web, thus contributing to camouflage of a soldier and his equipment when moving over a snoweld. Permanent whiteness may also be imparted to the frame by white coatings or wrappings or by white fillers incorporated in plastic filaments afterwards Woven into cloth-like fabrics. An ali-white snowshoe made as described will reflect most of the suns rays and thus will not be highly heated thereby; moreover, it will bea poor conductor of heat and hence more desirable for use in very cold weather than an al1-metal Snowshoe.

yof the necessary qualities.

Any true snowshoe must have a toe hole for receiving the toe of the boot or shoe worn by the user when the user walks in snow. Such toe holes are shown at 52 in Fig. 1 and at 53 in Fig. 3. To reinforce the web 25 adjacent the toe holes, tapes or strips of some woven material such as cottonor glass fiber cloth extend around the toe holes, being bonded or otherwise secured, thus giving the desired strength and stiiness to the web at the area where most of the stresses are imposed. As many as four thicknesses of tapes may be used.

In lieu of woven tapes or strips, metal reinforcements may be employed. The metal may be stranded metal cable, thin steelstrap or alu-'- minum or magnesium alloy strap with the` ends bent around the frame and welded or riveted, or with the ends riveted to flanges on the frame,

or directly welded at the ends to the metal frame.

Now turning to Fig. 6, another way of making the Snowshoe is there shown. In this instance the frame, preferably of a one-piece molded plastic construction, but of all metal construction if desired, comprises an outer frame 66 having integralreinforcing crosspieces 6i, 62, 63 and other reinforcing strips 6d, 65 extending v lengthwise and joined` to crosspieces 62, 63. Two

laminations 66, 67 each stamped from a sheet of woven or matted material such as Fiberglas,

- each having registering'perforations 68 andrecf tangular toe holes B9, 'are adapted to be assembled with and bonded to either sideof frame 66 and its reinforcements to make la unitary body More than two laminatlons may of course be bonded Ywithin `the frame to form the web. The toe hole formed in the completed Snowshoe by the registered holes '69 may be reinforced in the manner described above, as will be understood without further illustration.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the above listed desiderata are realized by the described Snowshoe constructions. f

However, Aone feature may require elucidation: minimum absorption of the suns heat. This :'s of importance in snowshoes because on a sunny day withv the air temperature below freezing a 4 metal snowshoe may absorb suiicient solar heat to melt snow lying on top of it. This melted snow will, however, freeze very quickly when a shady area is reached or when the run is obscured or goes down, thus making a layer of ice on the Snowshoe. Repetition of this melting and freezing may build up a heavy ice layer which may so fatigue the wearer that further walking becomes dicult. The described constructions will absorb little solar heat so that ice will not build up in layers on top of the Snowshoe. Snowshoes embodying the invention will weigh Inaterially less than prior art Snowshoes of the same size, and will be permanently white regardless vof Wear.

WhatIclaim is:

1. A Snowshoe comprising an open frame, a webv secured to the frame, and reinforcements secured to and extending across the opening in the frame; said web comprising a plurality of superposed perforate layers of material; and meansffor bonding said layers together and `to thereinforcements, with at least two of said layers being on opposite sides of the reinforcements.

2. A Snowshoe comprising an yopen rigid frame; a plurality of spaced reinforcements secured at their ends to the frame and extending transversely across the opening in the frame; and a perforated web comprising at least two layers, the layers being on opposite sides of the reinforcements and being .bonded to thereinforcements and also to the frame to make a unitary body, the web having a'toe hole and some of the reinforcements bordering` opposite sides of the toe hole.

FREDERICK T. PADEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: I Y

UNITED STATES PATENTS Y y Y,

Date

'2,515,070 Anderson July 11, 1950 

